The present disclosure generally relates to a vehicle air intake system. More particularly, the present disclosure is directed to an improved air intake tube for an air intake system.
Air intake systems provide necessary air to internal combustion engines to aid in the combustion process. Conventional intake systems either draw air from inside the engine compartment, or they draw air from outside the vehicle via an exterior intake port. The intake port is in communication with an intake tube or duct which directs air into an air precleaner. From the air cleaner, another intake tube or duct can be used to direct air to the vehicle's engine, specifically the engine's intake manifold.
Because the intake system must fit within the compact engine compartments of contemporary vehicles, the intake tube upstream of the air precleaner often includes a sharp curved section located between its inlet and outlet sections. As such, the intake tube often does not have a shape sufficient to inhibit the occurrence of a turbulent flow to enable air taken in through the intake port to be supplied smoothly to the air precleaner. The curved section typically has a generally constant circular cross-sectional shape along any plane taken generally normal to a longitudinal axis of the intake tube. Thus, the curved section has a generally constant diameter along the longitudinal axis. This design can cause airflow separation in the curved section which leads to flow loss and an overall lower flow rate.